Red Moon: The Lost Ones
by Gretel-the-Dragon
Summary: Family means everything, and blood ties can weather even the harshest of storms. Two sisters are forced to endure their own set of trials in a strange place full of cultural norms that are the polar opposites of those they were raised on. Religious, aesthetic, and social challenges put them to the test as they try to survive in a village where their very existences are abhorred.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

I was born in a small village in the Jinseki Mountains to two loving parents. My father, Kareha Odori, was a hunter who brought home food. My mother, Yuuan Tsuki, was a former Kunoichi who quit so she could raise me properly.

When I was a year and seven months old, my mother had another child. A sister. Atarashii. We were a couple of trouble makers early on.

I suppose we calmed down quite a bit when our father died.

There weren't a lot of bears in the mountains as high up as we were, but there were a few. My father was just unlucky enough to meet one of them face to face. He managed to kill it, but not before it dealt him a mortal wound. Our mother missed him quite terribly. I remember him a bit, but Atarashii was only two at the time.

I seem to remember that it was about three years later when our lives, and our future troubles, truly began.

* * *

We had both been waiting for months, but it was finally time. We had finally reached the day of our ceremonies. We were ecstatic on the inside, but on the outside we tried to appear calm and collected.

This was to be a serious turning point for us. After a child passed their ceremony, they were considered a full member of the village. Even if they ever decided to leave, they would always be welcomed back with open arms.

I was seven, and Atarashii was five.

It was already beginning to cool down in the latter half of August that year. I was in the back yard, waiting patiently for my mother to finish getting my sister ready. It was taking forever. We were definitely going to be late. After what felt like an hour, the door was opened and they both came out to join me.

"What took you so long?"

We laughed together for a moment as we continued on to the village's heart, where our first rituals would be performed.

Mr. Akiyama, as always, would be performing the blessings over the two of us as we stood before Lord Jashin in spirit. I would be going first, since I was older. Atarashii would follow directly after. We would then be presented with one snow rabbit each, which we would take as our first kills.

We would eventually move on to taking the lives of sinners and those who counted themselves among Lord Jashin's enemies. But at the time we were only children. We would not be expected to kill living human beings until we were a bit older and more mature. Able to withstand the burden put on one's soul by taking a life.

Until then, it would be acceptable for us to limit our quarry to wildlife.

My excitement diminished considerably as we arrived to find a crowd gathering. All of these people would be watching us closely the whole time. If we made a mistake, all these people would see.

I felt our mother rest a hand atop my head and looked over to find that she had done the same for my sister.

She was making an attempt to comfort us.

It worked, because I looked around and suddenly noticed that no one was looking at us in a negative way. In fact, most of the crowd smiled as we passed, or shook our mother's hand. She was a well-known member of the village. Everyone respected her, and therefore they also looked upon us with a fondness.

We made it through to find Mr. Akiyama standing at the center of the mass of people. Everyone backed off a bit as our mother guided us over to the man.

They exchanged the common greeting quietly before Mr. Akiyama turned his gaze to me and Atarashii. The look in his eye made me sure that, had we not been about to partake in something serious, he would have ruffled my hair. He did so every time he came to visit our mother.

Instead he looked to me and asked, "You first, then?"

He reached a hand down to me with a smile. I was led to the very center of the village while my sister went to wait with our mother. I stood as still as I could as Mr. Akiyama decorated my arms and face with red paint. When he'd finished he placed the remainder of the substance out of the way for when it was Atarashii's turn and came to stand before me again.

The ceremony was ready to begin.

A thumb was pressed to my forehead and his other hand raised my chin so I looked to the sky. The thumb was removed before he began muttering quietly under his breath. I closed my eyes and darkness wrapped around me. My feet stumbled in the black as I walked in spiritual form.

Every now and then I'd think I heard a whispered word of the prayer Mr. Akiyama was reciting outside my body. I came to a stop when the shadowy outline of a tall figure became visible up ahead.

There was no mistaking his silhouette.

I took a knee and bowed my head.

"Welcome, child." His unique voice echoed all around the emptiness, indescribable. He laid a hand atop my head. His skin was somewhat cold as he brushed his thumb against my forehead. I suppressed a chill, but not because of the coolness of his fingers in my hair.

Because he was right there in front of me. It was quite humbling, having your god standing so close that you could reach out and clasp his free hand in your own.

"Do you come here seeking the gift of immortality?"

I nodded silently.

"Will you, in return, swear yourself into my service so long as you shall live?"

"I swear, my Lord." My voice sounded quite small, but there was no hint of hesitation. I had gone over these words in my head repetitively for months in preparation for that very moment. "Sľubujem, že ti slúži k tomu najlepšiemu z mojej schopnosti až do dňa Aj zomriem."

He raised my head so I would look at him, smiling behind a mask of bone. A secretive, knowing smile.

"Then you shall go forth and do my bidding."

With this, he placed a hand over my heart and I could have sworn my blood stopped flowing for a minute. My heart stopped beating and the darkness started to close in as my body shut down.

I was dying.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

My eyes shot open and I gulped in a breath of air. It took a few seconds before I realized that I was lying on the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath me. I looked down and almost passed out again when I saw a long piece of metal sticking out of the left side of my chest. The realization hit me that I must have just performed my first ritual, as soon as I saw a snowshoe hare lying still on the ground a short distance away.

I couldn't remember anything past the darkness.

A pair of arms scooped me up and the metal spike was pulled from my body. My mother smiled down at me.

"You did very well. I'm proud of you."

I smiled tiredly and cuddled into her shirt a bit. Atarashii looked up at me with wide eyes and I reached a hand down to her. She grasped my fingers between hers and seemed a bit relieved to find that I was not dead. Mr. Akiyama came over after a moment and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It's your turn now, dear." Atarashii gave my hand a final squeeze before she let go and allowed Mr. Akiyama to guide her to her spot.

I think I fell asleep because I remember waking up in my bed later in the day. My chest was bandaged, but when I removed the gauze curiously, I found that the wound was already part-way healed.

My mother sat in the rocking chair to one side of the room, asleep with my sister curled up in her lap. They looked so peaceful there that I smiled in happiness and went back to sleep.

I thought the biggest trial of my life was over.

I know now that I was seriously mistaken.

* * *

About a year later my eighth birthday finally rolled around. July twenty-ninth.

Atarashii had been creeping about the house secretively all morning. Meanwhile, our mother had gone down to a market to pick up ingredients for my birthday dinner: Dumpling soup with chicken breast. She knew it was my favorite and even hinted that she might teach me how to cook it myself later.

For the most part I sat outside and practiced bird calls. I almost got a blue jay to land right next to me. When mother got home she called me into the house to help her cook.

We cooked. My friends Ao and Kiko came over for dinner. We ate and sang and danced. It was a marvelous time we had.

After cake came the gifts. Kiko brought me three pairs of lovely hair ties, each with a different attachment. The first pair had a flower on them. A lotus, I believe. The second pair had a blue jay on one and a cardinal on the other. The third pair was probably my favorite; on each tie there was a small silver Jashinist symbol. I hugged her and gave thanks to her for the wonderful presents.

Ao presented me with two thin metal cylinders. It took me a moment before I realized what they were. I extended the spiky weapons to full length and examined them in mild fascination. My first ritual spikes. These would always be special to me. I knew his father probably crafted them and asked him to thank the man, and told him thank you as well.

My mother gave me a small book bound in black leather. I opened it and found empty pages of lined paper.

"A journal," she explained when I looked to her in slight confusion. "To keep all your adventures in."

I smiled faintly, knowing what she meant. We'd be leaving early the next morning to go stay with our grandparents, Atarashii and I. Mother was going on a mission that would last almost an entire year. I would have this book to write my days in so I could regale her with many stories upon her return.

She also took the silver chain from around her neck—upon which her and father's wedding rings were usually strung—and handed it to me.

"You'll need that to go with your sister's gift."

Atarashii took the chain from me and put something on it that I couldn't see. After she put the necklace around my neck, I was allowed to admire her gift. The hand crafted silver pendant completed my new rosary and brought me close to tears. I hugged my mother and sister happily and kissed them both on their cheeks.

"Thank you…"

Shortly thereafter Ao and Kiko bid me farewell and took their leave. I went to bed, knowing there was a long day ahead when we woke up the next morning.

* * *

We all woke up at dawn, already packed and ready to go. Most of the people in the village were still asleep, so we kept quiet on our way out. There were a few people who bid out mother safe travels as they passed and Mr. Akiyama greeted us warmly at the village entrance.

He gave me my own copy of the ancient scrolls, which I stored carefully away in my bags as he and mother embraced one another. I heard him whisper something in her ear that made her wince a bit.

Even though I was curious about what he'd said, I decided in the end that it might be better for me not to ask.

They released each other and mother bowed her head slightly in respect to her old friend. They parted ways and I followed mother with Atarashii in tow. Mr. Akiyama watched until he could no longer see us before, I suppose, he headed back into the depths of the village.

* * *

The three of us started down the mountains to the valley below, where the Village Hidden in the Pines was located. As the name suggested, the village was surrounded by dense pine forests. Luckily we were all used to the high mountain wilderness, so when we reached the valley that evening we had no trouble finding our destination.

People looked up from their work curiously as we passed. Children stopped playing to watch us marching silently through the streets. I saw more children our ages than I'd ever seen before. This place was considerably larger than our home village, and to be honest I found it somewhat… intimidating. But I kept my head held high and made sure Atarashii did the same.

Everyone had a look in their eyes I felt familiar with, but I couldn't put a name to the emotion at the time. I would later come to know those eyes very well. That look of fear and hesitation hidden partially behind a stony wall of anger and hatred. At the time all I knew was that everyone was watching us, though.

We ended up at a house at the other end of the village and our mother headed up to the door, shoulders tense. An old woman opened the door, about fifty years of age, and looked from us to our mother.

"Mother, let me speak—"

"I know why you're here," the woman said. "How long do you wish for us to keep them?"

Mother hesitated a moment before she replied, "Eleven months and my business should be over with…"

Our grandmother looked back down to me and Atarashii in silent contemplation. "Fine. They may remain with us while you are away. Bring their belongings—"

"I'm sure they'll have no problem bringing in their luggage on their own." She seemed quite reluctant to set foot inside the house. "I have to be going now. I need to stop by the hospital and see dad." She knelt down in front of me and Atarashii to say her goodbyes.

"Be good for your grandparents, alright? Try not to get into too much trouble or upset them. They're going to be taking care of you both while I'm on my mission. I'll see you when I get back." She hugged us close and whispered, "I love you," gently.

Little did I know this would be the last time I would embrace my mother over the next twelve years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

My little sister and I watched our mother walk away for a while before we were called into the house. We brought our things in with us and stood in the front room as our grandmother looked us over silently.

"We'll have to do something about your clothes… And what in the world is all over your face?"

I knew she was addressing me. I still had blue paint smeared over my cheeks, as was normal for young 'warriors' in our village.

"It's… paint, ma'am."

She frowned and directed me toward the nearest bathroom, a hand barely touching my shoulder. "Go and wash it off immediately. You look messy with that stuff on your face."

I complied, although somewhat begrudgingly.

What was the big deal about wearing face paint? Ao wore red markings in the stuff almost every day. I'd been doing it since my ceremony almost a year ago.

Once my cheeks were spotless I came out of the bathroom to find Atarashii in a dress. I couldn't help it; I stared.

I'd never seen her in a dress. Not many people wore them in our village since we were on the side of the mountains facing the Land of Iron. Icy winds and high elevation made for low temperatures most of the year. However, being in a valley sheltered by mountains all around, the Village Hidden in the Pines was warmer.

This apparently meant dresses for us, at least when we left the house.

"Go out for a few hours and keep yourselves busy," our grandmother said as she brought out a dress intended for me. "I'll take your bags to your rooms and get everything in order."

She put me in the dress and practically shoved us out the door.

We both frowned at the attire our grandmother had given us. It was odd for us to be without pants and I kept pulling the skirt of my dress down, feeling like I was half naked despite the fabric reaching all the way down to my knees. Atarashii kicked a small rock ahead of herself on the path.

We couldn't play in the dresses. Not how we usually would, at least. We couldn't train in them either.

We eventually decided to go make nice with the local children.

A boy about our age was on his front porch playing with a blue ball about the size of his head when we came walking by. I smiled at him and waved a bit. He waved back for a moment before an older girl, presumably his sister, came out and ushered him into the house. She threw a warning scowl in our direction before she went in as well. Atarashii and I exchanged a confused look with one another before we continued on into town.

Maybe she thought we were keeping him from dinner?

We soon came across another boy and two girls, all a year or two older than me. They barely looked at us before retreating down the street. I supposed they didn't want to be seen with us since they were older.

Atarashii and I decided to just try the next day and to go explore the forest for a while. Once we were out of the village, I no longer cared about my dress. I started running ahead of my sister, skirts flying up around my legs every time I jumped over a fallen tree branch. She gave chase, laughing gleefully. I weaved nimbly between trees as she followed suit.

We were happy.

The happiest we'd been all day.

The sun slowly went down and we decided it was high time for us to be getting back to the house. We raced back to the edge of town before we composed ourselves and walked home in a more dignified manner.

A man looked up from a paper as we entered, sitting on the couch in the front room. I assumed he was our grandfather and took my shoes off at the door. He looked back down at his paper with a bit of a smile hidden behind the pages. It might not seem like the warmest reception to some, but it was the best we'd received since arriving in the village.

Our grandmother came out from the back of the house and took our hands to guide us to our rooms.

We had rooms that were adjoined by a bathroom. The rooms themselves were plain, but nice. The dressers were full, mostly, of clothes I'd never seen before. I was, however, relieved to find a surprisingly low number of dresses and skirts in my new wardrobe.

Until our grandmother told us she'd be going out for more the next day, that is.

I flopped down on my new bed with a sigh. How was I going to train if all I ever wore out of the house was dresses? Bluh.

I got to my feet and dug through the dresser to find a pair of pants. Locating some I deemed suitable, I put them on under the dress.

_Much better._

Soon after, we were called to dinner. Grandmother frowned a bit at the blue pants under my dress but allowed them. Our grandfather chuckled too quiet for her to notice.

We ate grilled pork steak and fried rice. It was good. No one really talked much over the span of dinner.

But the food was good.

After dinner we went to get our pajamas on and went to bed. I brushed my teeth before going to get my pajamas, only to find that they were not where they should have been. Well, they _were_ a bit warm I guess. Grandmother must have put them away for winter with my other warm things.

Instead I put on the pair of shorts and the tank top that now resided in my bottom drawer.

As I climbed into my bed I heard a light knock on my bathroom door. Atarashii came in, fidgeting slightly in the doorway.

"Are you alright?" I asked as she closed the door behind herself. She didn't reply at first. Just climbed up onto my bed beside me.

She held out a fragment of parchment which I took and read. I recognized the passage immediately from the Fist Scroll of The Ancient Teachings of Jashin. The edges of the scrap of paper were curled slightly and black.

"Where did you find this?" I asked quietly.

Her reply was whispered so low that I almost couldn't hear her say, "In the fireplace…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

We learned a lot about our grandmother over our first week in the village.

She kept a clean house and even cleaner children. Any time we entered the house with mud anywhere on our persons, we were immediately ordered to the bath. She required people to say please and thank you for every little kindness, which wasn't too much to ask, I suppose.

Manners _are _a good trait to be encouraged.

But one of the most important things we learned about the woman was that she did not allow anything related to Jashinism in her house.

She took my rosary, my ritual spikes, and even my pair of hair ties with the Jashinist symbols on them, and hid them away in her room. We weren't allowed to speak the ancient passages or even speak our prayers. Nor were we supposed to perform sacrifices.

We decided to break that rule once a week, of course.

We would head out into the woods every Saturday after lunch to sacrifice an animal or two and practice the techniques our mother had been teaching us. We knew better than to ask our grandmother if she would help us with those skills in particular, but we _did_ wonder if she was planning on continuing our ninja training at all.

One day, after about a week there, I asked her. She immediately looked up from her food.

"You two are planning on becoming Kunoichi then… Alright. I'll sign you up for the academy later. Just means you'll be out of my hair most of the day, six days a week."

I looked at her, confused. "What's an academy?"

She looked back down at the papers in her hands.

"Oh, right. You're all homeschooled up there."

"An academy is a place where Chuunin shinobi teach children of the village basic ninja skills. Like how to properly throw a shuuriken or how to use a clone technique," our grandfather explained.

"But… back home, mom always used to—"

"I will not take part in any of that homeschooling nonsense from 'back home' and your grandfather is a busy man. If you two want to be Kunoichi, you will attend an academy while you are here and learn from people who are paid to teach you that sort of stuff."

And that was the end of it. Our grandmother went into town later and signed us up. We would begin the very next day, bright and early.

* * *

I was glad to be wearing pants and a shirt the next day when we left the house. Grandfather had convinced grandmother to let us wear clothes more suitable for training.

We went with our grandfather on his way to work. He was the head medic in the village and managed the hospital only a few minutes away from the academy.

I wondered for a moment who was more anxious—me, or my sister. On one hand, we would have more opportunities to make friends at the academy and we could hone our shinobi skills easier than we would on our own. But on the other hand, we hadn't really been well-received by our peers since arriving and we were already more advanced than most kids our ages so we would probably be teamed up with older students.

The hope that we might find even one person like us bounced about anxiously in my chest. Even one other follower, one person we could relate to.

Looking around the classroom when we first entered, I could immediately feel that hope being dashed. Just from the looks we received.

There were some who looked simply shocked to find us there, as though wondering how we had come to be in the same class as them. Others whispered things to their friends who'd never met us yet, passing on who… and probably _what _we were.

I was still trying to be optimistic about the whole situation, even though it had already become rather clear to me that we weren't wanted there. It was just who I was back then. I tried to never say anything bad about anyone, because I was naïve and thought it was rude.

But you know how it goes.

It's kind of hard not to see how bad things are, even though you try your hardest. Especially when the world seems to keep throwing your hardships back in your face. Lemons and salt in your wounds.

But back then it was a little easier. I still didn't know how the world was for people like me and my sister, even though our mother had spoken briefly on the subject from time to time. I just thought that maybe they didn't understand the way we acted because things were somehow done differently there in the valley than they were up in our village.

The teacher put on a smile and came over to investigate. "And who do we have here?"

"Your two new students. Take good care of them alright?" Our grandfather patted our heads for a moment, tousling our hair. "I gotta get going."

"Of course." The young woman took us both by a shoulder and guided us over to a pair of open seats. We waved back at our new guardian as he turned to leave, knowing that we wouldn't see him until it was around dinner time that night.

"Well, girls. Why don't you both introduce yourselves to the rest of the class?"

"I'm Akai Tsuki." I held my sister's hand for a bit of a confidence boost as she hid behind me. "And this is my sister. Atarashii."

A few of the other students exchanged whispers once more.

"Akai, Atarashii. Welcome to the academy. Go ahead and take your seats and we'll continue where we left off." She released us to our seats and made her way back down the aisle to the front of the room, speaking as she went.

Sitting down, I took another look around the classroom. A student or two sat glancing back at us every so often, while others seemed content to just follow along with the lesson.

Eventually I got bored and looked out the window to where a group of older students were walking by, in a period between missions.

One girl in particular caught my eye. A couple years older than me. Brilliant red curly hair and ice blue eyes. I was a bit startled when we suddenly made direct eye contact through the glass.

She smiled.

It seemed like a genuine smile. Not the kind of smile you give someone you hate when you just want them to stop staring at you, but like a, "Hey, I don't know you, but I think we should be friends," sort of smile. I smiled back a bit and reached for my bag to take out a notebook.

* * *

At lunch I thought about seeking the girl out, but then thought better of it. It might've just been a sympathy smile, after all. I mean, she was at least three years older than me and seemed to have an already established group of older students for friends. What would she have to gain by befriending us?

So Atarashii and I ate our lunches under a tree out on the front lawn. It was shady, and rather quiet since most of the students were eating elsewhere for some reason or another. We kept quiet about how the teacher had asked us in private not to talk about Jashin in class, not wanting to spoil our appetites further.

Another request to hide ourselves. I wondered if no one in the entire village practiced Jashinism from all the fuss our religion was getting. If that was the case, I really did hope our mother might come back a bit earlier than expected.

Call me selfish, but I was already getting homesick. We had never been away from the village without one of our parents before. Not even for a single night, let alone a whole week. It made me worry that we wouldn't last the year.

But then I remembered what we promised our mother just before she left.

She obviously had a strained relationship with our grandparents, but if she didn't want us to make trouble for them then we would try our best to respect her wishes. She deserved it after putting up with us for such a long time.

I was startled from my thoughts by the sound of rustling grass beside me and looked over to locate the source.

There were now two boys sitting under the tree with us. I'd seen them in class earlier when we first entered, and sort of remembered them being among those who didn't whisper things about us as we were seated.

"Hey. Akai and Atarashii, right?" The boy with spiky black hair was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at me and I suddenly felt very shy. Both boys looked a couple years older than me and I didn't want to embarrass myself.

"Yeah. We just moved here, from up in the mountains."

He looked a little surprised.

"You lived all the way up _there_?"

I followed his line of sight to one of the highest mountain in the chain surrounding the Northern edge of the valley. It wasn't the exact mountain our village was located on, but close enough, so I nodded.

"Wow… It's seriously cold up there, isn't it?"

I laughed. "Mhm. It really is warmer here. It's… different."

"I'm Taoma, and this is Riku, my brother," he introduced suddenly. "We're in your class."

"Well, actually, _we're_ in _your_ class." This made him laugh, and I smiled.

They seemed like nice guys. They didn't look at us in the same way most of the other villagers did. And to be honest, it was really refreshing to have a couple friends in that sea of isolation.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The days passed a bit quicker with Taoma and Riku to talk to. We tried to never bring up negative things, feeling that we were blessed to have them there with us and not wanting to complain. Things weren't that bad anyhow.

Just the usual cold shoulder from most of the other students. Other than that, we were actually pretty happy.

Grandmother let me read through her recipe cards, so long as I promised to put them back into alphabetical order just the way I found them. And boy, did she have an abundance of them. I think I could have tried a new recipe each day for the rest of my life and never got through them all.

We still weren't allowed to do any Jashinist things around the house, but we were slowly getting used to that and accepting it as being a condition of our temporary living arrangements.

And familiarity with our new schedule made it so February came around before we knew it. It was just about the halfway mark of our year away from home. Snow blanketed the valley, and I have to say it was beautiful.

Cold, but beautiful.

And it wasn't just our halfway point. February brought along my sister's seventh birthday. I felt kind of bad for her having to celebrate a birthday away from home, without mom or any of her friends, but she told me that she was still happy because she had me there with her, and she was going to have two new friends to celebrate with this time around.

Two weeks before her special day, I started with my preparations. I wanted to get her something special, symbolic. Something she'd be able to carry forever. My mind went back to the gift she gave me for my last birthday and I smiled.

_Perfect._

I knew I couldn't just give her a new rosary at the party. Grandmother would be furious with me and Atarashii would probably never even lay her hands on the gift until mother came back. So I started thinking of a good cover present.

Maybe grandmother would let me cook for the party?

When I asked her, she agreed with little persuasion necessary. I was relieved.

When the seventeenth finally came, I forced Atarashii out of the house. Riku had promised to keep an eye on her for the afternoon so I could prepare her dinner in peace and secrecy. I also had to put the final touches on Atarashii's actual present without her catching on.

I hadn't been able to find a chain for a decent price, but it wasn't like she'd be able to get away with wearing it anyhow.

Not to sound prideful, but I was actually very happy with the way the pendant turned out. I got burned a little when I was welding it all together, but healed up within an hour or two. Besides, it would all be worth it at the end of the day.

For dinner I was cooking Teriyaki-glazed Buri and Miso with potatoes and onions. Atarashii didn't like pickles, and grandfather confided to me that he wasn't too fond of them either, so I decided rice was in order.

With a bit of practice and more help than I care to admit, the meal came together quite nicely. I let grandfather put the final touches on everything to go find Atarashii and Riku. As far as I could remember, they were supposed to be hanging out at Kaen, a local flower shop where the owner could almost always be found painting hyper-realism pieces of her arrangements.

It wasn't a place that was difficult to spot, with its large pink and white sign and its eye-catching displays. The front of the small building was practically covered in hanging flower pots and some sparse flowering vines. It didn't get all that much business from tourists or travelers. Not for the flowers. However, the owner did get a lot of foreigners asking to take one of her paintings home with them.

I liked Kaen. The woman behind the counter was one of the people in town who never gave us dissatisfied looks when we entered her shop, and never scolded us for wanting to touch the flowers. She was deaf, and mute, so she wasn't much for conversation, but she could impart a thousand and one words with a single well-placed stroke at the end of a painting.

I found Atarashii and Riku sitting on one of the in-store benches, watching her at work. They smiled as she made a small patch of daffodils sprout up with just a couple dabs and swipes of her brush.

They both loved watching the silent woman paint. Atarashii had taken an interest in art herself, in the last few months. She had always loved drawing, and her eye for detail was amazing.

I walked over to join them for a moment and Riku looked up at the sound of my footsteps.

"Ready?"

When I nodded they both got to their feet, waved goodbye to the silent woman, and followed me out of the store.

Excitement bubbled in my stomach. This was the first time I had planned a birthday party all by myself, and I wanted to make it count. Especially since it was my sister's first birthday away from home.

Riku ran off to get Taoma from their house while Atarashii and I waited by the side of the road.

"Hey!"

I turned my head to seek out the source of the voice and found a somewhat familiar girl with red curls jogging over toward us. The first day of school flashed in my mind and I suddenly recognized her as that girl from outside the window.

She paused a moment to catch her breath when she reached us, having been out for a run as far as I could tell. Once she was able, she smiled and said, "I wanted to give this to you."

In her hand the girl held a rather ornate kunai with three blades instead of one. Some sections of the steel were stained with deep red swirls and the handle was wrapped in a smooth red cloth for good grip._sh_

I was stunned, to say the least. We had never officially met this girl before. And yet here she was, presenting Atarashii with one of the most beautiful pieces of craftsmanship I'd ever laid eyes on.

"Th... Thank you," Atarashii managed to reply as she took the weapon from her. The girl gave a deep bow before scurrying back down the street.

"See you around, kiddies!"

I stared after her, astonished.

"Hey, was that Hisaki?" Taoma came running up to us with Riku close behind. "What did she want?"

"She gave me this," my sister beamed, holding her shiny new weapon out in front of herself. "It's so pretty!"

Taoma ogled the blade, looking rather envious if you asked me. "Whoa! That's one of her dad's pieces, for sure!"

While they continued on about the gift, I was more interested in the presenter of said article. She turned a corner near the end of the street and disappeared from sight, but not from my mind. Her indifference to who we were made me… happy. As happy as the day Taoma and Riku reached out to us.

_Hisaki, huh..?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The house looked unnaturally clean when we arrived. Of course it was always immaculate thanks to grandmother's severe case of OCD, but she was dusting the bookshelves for what I guessed was the third time that evening.

"We're back," I called, announcing my presence. Before she could open her mouth, I was immersed in giving a short speech about where the twins should place their shoes and their coats, reminding them to use the coasters and refrain from touching things. It was a drag, but I knew that the alternative was to listen to grandmother griping about her ancient furniture for the rest of the week.

Everyone removed their shoes and placed them on the mat by the door before proceeding on a short distance to the coat rack

"Ah, the young Ishigaki brothers. Tell me, how has your father been?" Grandfather asked from the kitchen. He was probably just getting the cake out of the oven.

Taoma looked a bit surprised. "Mr. Hasamaru? Y… Yeah. Dad's fine. Still in bed most of the time, but you know how it is. Some days are better than others."

I took this conversation to mean that grandfather had been tending to the boys' father during his visits to the hospital.

We already knew that the man hadn't been well as of late. Well, actually, he hadn't been feeling himself in almost a year from what Riku told me. On and off Pneumonia-like symptoms, but none of the known remedies would treat it, leading the doctors to believe it was something else entirely. Either that or Mr. Ishigaki had built up an immunity from being so sick for so long.

"Has the Center got its monthly shipment in yet, or are they late again?" The younger of the two managed a smile as grandfather laughed.

"You guessed it. They're probably still having technical difficulties over at the main branch."

Taoma rolled his eyes at his brother having a little tech talk with our grandfather. He was less interested in medicine than his brother by a long shot. If grandfather had been discussing ninja tools or ways to amplify the effects of a jutsu, I'm sure he would have joined the conversation instantly.

I ignored my sulking friend and scuttled into the kitchen to start moving food to the table. The pots were really heavy, but I managed without spilling a drop.

By the time I had brought everything to the table, everyone else had taken their seats. It felt good to know that I put in a lot of the work that brought the meal together, and even better to see the look on Atarashii's face as she saw what we were having.

"Oh, wow," she gushed quietly, starry-eyed as she gazed upon the spread in wonder. We didn't usually eat like this back home, especially since mother never really liked having to go down into the valley for supplies.

Her statement only served to further inflate my ego over the matter.

I sat between Atarashii and grandfather as grandmother brought in some plates so everyone could start serving themselves. My sister and I laughed at Taoma's jokes, and milk came out of Atarashii's nose at his impression of the mean old walrus man who'd taken over for the last academy instructor when she moved.

I have to say, it was spot on.

Grandmother frowned in slight disapproval, but since Atarashii managed to keep the milk from going all over, she was quickly forgiven.

The cake seemed to disappear in an even shorter amount of time, and I can't say I could blame anyone. Grandfather did a fantastic job, and we all joked that he should give up working in that stuffy Medical Center and work from home as a pastry chef.

The party made things feel lighter in the house, and even grandmother seemed to be in a less than negative mood. I thought I even caught the glimmer of a smile starting to cross her features as we joked around with her husband and it made me glad.

If _she_ was having a good time, I knew the party had gone well.

Once the cake was gone, I gathered everyone in the living room for presents. Out of earshot, I whispered to my sister, "I'll give you your real present later."

She nodded understandingly. "You cooking dinner was a good gift, too."

"Here."

Taoma tossed her a pretty little parcel with a ribbon on top. She just barely managed to catch it, surprise written all over her face.

"You..?"

"It's your present, obviously!"

"You don't really seem like the present-giving type, Taoma." A broad grin spread from ear to ear as I watched him fidgeting.

The boy went a bit red. "It's from both of us. And Riku's the one that picked it out.

Atarashii removed the lid from the box curiously. Inside, there was a flexible comb hairpin with a cluster of dandelions attached. It was quite beautiful and the bright yellow of the flowers fit my sister's hair well.

Her cheeks turned a faint pink and she giggled, removing the gift to examine it closer.

"Thank you!" She immediately went about fixing it into her bangs.

Grandmother entered from the kitchen, leaving her husband to finish with the dishes for a moment so she could go retrieve a box from their room. It wasn't long before she returned and presented Atarashii with a new dress.

At that point, we were used to the older woman's fixation with fashionable clothing items, and now that I look back I imagine it might've been something about her wanting us to be as ladylike as possible.

My sister stroked the smooth fabric with the palm of her hand. It came with a white jacket made of denim, I think. And it looked like something she might actually enjoy every now and again.

The giver of the dress gave a somewhat gentle smile, something rare indeed. It was one of the calm moments. A soft moment.

"It's already this late?" Taoma eyed the clock on the mantle place and reluctantly conceded that it really was about time for him and his brother to be going.

"Our dad will be worried about us if we stay out too long. We'll see you guys tomorrow, right?" Riku followed Taoma to the door, looking back at us expectantly.

Atarashii beamed. "Yeah, of course!"

Suddenly remembering his manners, Riku stopped and turned to face our grandparents. "Thank you for having us, and have a good night."

With that, they were gone, and we were reminded of our impending bed time.

After we adorned our sleepwear and brushed our teeth, I motioned for Atarashii to follow me to my room.

"Are you ready?" Atarashii's eyes lit up at the sound of that and I smiled. "Close your eyes."

Once she did as instructed, I reached around under my bed for the box I stowed away earlier. It took me a little while to locate, but I finally pulled it out and put it in her hands. "Okay, open."

As soon as she saw the box in her hands she beamed from ear to ear and pulled the lid off.

For a moment there was silence in the room and I started to worry. "Do you… like it?"

"I love it." She wrapped her small arms around my shoulders. "Thank you."


End file.
